EDITOR'S NOTE: WOW!!!
It was a real challenge putting this one together.
I started Saturday about 5:00 PM and wrote this between operating Field
Day (also fighting off spiders and bugs), and driving back and forth from
the Field Day site (Headed home about 3:15 AM. Not much sleep... Must have
been the bugs!). I woke up real early Sunday morning. Finished writing
around 11:15 AM so the official proof-reader (my wife) can look at it
while I head back out to Field Day. I came home around 3:30 PM, and
corrected and added more to the bulletin... I do not recommend this
to anyone.... Hope you had fun at Field Day!!! 73 de Tedd KB8NW

3C0, ANNOBON ISLAND
Operators Franz/DJ9ZB, Elmo/EA5BYP, Victor/EA5FO
and Vicente/EA5YN, will be active from Annobon Island in October. The
station callsign is absolutely as sured, and it will be announced before
the operation starts with other complete details (bands, modes, dates,
etc). QSL via DJ9ZB.

4W, TIMOR LESTE
Well known DXer Kan Mizoguchi, JA1BK, sent out a press
release (via WA2MOE) explaining why "East Timor" should be removed from
the ARRL DXCC List and "Timor Leste" should be added as a new DXCC entity.
Kan explains:

"Explanation of our petition to remove the former 4W and to add Timor
Leste: The Eastern part of the island Timor was originally a Portuguese
colony but was invaded by Indonesia in 1975.

Following the resignation of the Indonesian dictator General Suharto,
Portugal and Indonesia entered into a treaty allowing an independence
referendum to be held among the area's residents, and the United Nations
began a short period of temporary administration and peacekeeping.

That area was called "East Timor", and the UN agency charged with
assisting the people to independence was called UNTAET, standing for
United Nations Transitional Administration of East Timor. It should be
remembered that UNTAET was not a country but was a UN agency only.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocated to UNTAET
a bloc of call prefixes 4WA-4WZ , and under the provisions of DXCC2000
rules, ARRL made "East Timor" a DXCC entity.

There is a problem with this. At the time the entity was established
there was no state or country, just a land area which shortly would have a
referendum for independence according to the treaty. DXCC2000 states that
if '...provisional assignments not be ratified later by the full ITU, the
Entity will be removed from the DXCC List '.

The referendum was held on May 20, 2002. Independence won, and the
provisional allocation of 4WA-4WZ was returned to ITU by UNTAET. The
allocation was never ratified. According to DXCC2000, UNTAET should have
been removed immediately from the entities list. It was not.

The new political state is known as the Democratic Republic of Timor
Leste and has been admitted to the United Nations. The ITU has now
reallocated the same bloc of prefixes to Timor Leste and the government
of that country has established a procedure whereby amateur radio licenses
can be and are issued.

The conclusion is obvious: Since the ARRL added UNTAET/4W to the DXCC
list it had to be removed when the provisional call bloc was cancelled
effective May 20, 2002 because UNTAET disappeared and the United Nations
returned this provisional allocation to ITU. The allocation to UNTAET was
never ratified so removal from the DXCC list should have been automatic
according to the rules of DXCC2000.

On the other hand, the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste became a
United Nations member state on September 27, 2002 and is now eligible to
be a new entity according to DXCC2000 criteria a).

ITU has reallocated 4WA-4WZ to the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste and
actual amateur radio activities started after this reallocation."

9A, CROATIA
OPDX has been informed that Braco, OE1EMS/T94JJ, is active
at the moment from Krk Island (EU-136), and he is using the callsign
9A/OE1EMS. He will activate some other Croatian Islands and will use
the callsign 9A/OE1EMS/p. With this callsign you can expect activity
only on 20 meters and maybe 40 meters. Please note he will be active
in the IOTA contest from Krk Island. QSL via DJ2MX.

9H, MALTA
Thomas, DL1ASA, will be on holiday on Gozo Island (EU-023)
from August 1-15th. His callsign will be 9H3TM. His activity will be
on all HF bands on CW, SSB, RTTY and will participate in the WAE-CW
Contest on the weekend of August 9-10th. He will enter the contest as
a Single-OP in Low-Power. QSL is "OK" via the DARC Bureau. For more
details, see his Web site at:

B4, CHINA
Michael, BD5RV, reports that the People's Republic of China
Headquarters Station BY1PK (operated by the JiangSu DX Club) will be
active in the IARU HF World Championship. They will use the callsign B4HQ.
QSL via BA4RD: Ken Wang, P.O.BOX 538, Nanjing 210005, P.R. CHINA.

C6, BAHAMAS
Look for Jimmy, W6JKV, to be active as C6/W6JKV between
now and July 7th. His activity over the past week has been on 6 meters
at various times between 1000-1800z (usually looking for Europe). Watch
around/between 50110-50125 kHz.

CONVENTION
Hans, K0HB, states, "Keep your calendars clear for October
18th! The Twin City DX Association of Minnesota is proud to present the
W0DXCC 2003 Conference at the Holiday Inn, Route 35W in Bloomington,
Minnesota! Top DX speakers, the W0 Buro, ARRL DX Advisory Committee,
DXCC card checking, retailers and demos of the top radios plus lots more
for a an exciting day of DX fun. It's near Mall of America for the family,
and don't miss the Vikings play the Denver Broncos on October 19th!"
Visit the following Web page for more details at:

FO, FRENCH POLYNESIA (Also, a ZL IOTA and Austral Islands [FO/A])
Look
for operators Barry/ZS1FJ/G4MFW/ZL1MFW, Phil/G3SWH and Deon/ZS1ZL, to
activate the following islands during a DXpedition to French Polynesia
in July:

* Tubuai Island (OC-152) in the Austral Islands, July 11-14th
ADDED NOTE: A short operation may also take place on Rurutu
Island OC-050 in the Austral Islands.

* Mangareva Island (OC-063) in the Gambier Islands, July 15-22nd

* Tahiti Island (OC-046) in the Society Islands, July 23-24th

* Great Barrier Island (OC-201) in the New Zealand Island Group
around July 25-26th
The callsigns to be used are: FO/G4MFW on SSB and RTTY and FO/G3SWH on
CW. QSL routes: FO/G4MFW via ZS1FJ and FO/G3SWH via G3SWH. Activity will
be on all bands, including the WARC bands (even during the IARU Contest
weekend while on Tubuai Island). The low bands 160, 80 and 40 meters will
also be on the air. Modes are SSB, CW and RTTY. The preliminary frequencies
are:SSB - 28495, 24945, 21295, 18145, 14195, 7095 and 3795 kHzCW - 28025, 24895, 21025, 18075, 14025, 10105, 7005, 3505 and 1830 kHzRTTY - 28075, 24922, 21085, 18102 and 14075 kHz
Please note that small deviations might be needed, e.g. if the announced
frequency is busy, not busy enough or filled with QRM. They will always
work split, listening up 5 on SSB and up 1-2 on CW and RTTY. Strategically
located pilot stations have been appointed to assist the expedition members
in the efficient flow of traffic and information.

Expedition costs in the Pacific Region are extremely high and any donations
from DX associations and individuals will be gratefully accepted and may
be sent to G3SWH. Please do not send checks in any currency other than
sterling or cash in currencies other than Euros and U.S. dollars. The
expedition website will publish daily news, frequencies, operating
conditions, pilot station activity, equipment status, E-mail addresses
and QSL information. Web site is at:

I5, ITALY (Castles and IOTA)
Joel, F2YT, will be touring the Italian
Province of Grossetto (I5) from August 8-31st. He will be using the callsign
I/F2YT. Paul-Joel will be activating a lot of Italian castles which count
for the Italian Castles Award. Ottavio, IK1PML, the well known QSL cards
printer, will also go with him, at times. A short trip to Elba Island (IOTA
EU-028, IIA LI-001) is also scheduled between August 15-31st, where Paul
will sign IA5/F2YT. Watch the clusters for spots. Activity is planned on
7052 and 14252 kHz SSB, but by request, Paul can make a CW QSO on the same
frequency. QSL via F2YT, either direct or via the bureau.

IOTA NEWSAS-036. Operators Takeshi/JA3GJE and Hajime/JP3TKP will be active as
homecall/6 from Iki Island (Iki-jima Gounuura-cho Iki-gun
Nagasaki-ken) from 0700z, July 3rd to 0000z, July 7th. Their
activity will be on 40/17/12/10 meters SSB. QSL via the Bureau
to their home callsigns.

AS-080. Club members of Pyong-taek DX Club (Operators DS2GOO, 6K2CLF,
6K2CEO and 6K2CEW) will be active from Anmyon Island (KDN F26)
between July 4-6th as D90HE/3 or with their private Homecall/3.
QSL via Han, DS2GOO (P.O.Box 39, Pyongtaek, Kyonggi-do, 450-600,
South Korea). Log search and pictures will be available at:

AS-147. Takeshi/JI3DST will be active as JI3DST/8 from Okushiri Island
(Okushiri-cho Okushiri-gun Hokkaidou) from 0700z, July 25th to
0000z, August 3rd. Activity will be on 40/17/15/12/10/6 meters
SSB. QSL via the BUREAU (BURO is best). Also, look for Takeshi
to be active in the IOTA contest.

EU-001. Jun, OE1ZKC, will be on the air from Kos Island, Dodecakese
Island, as SV5/OE1ZKC from July 16-23rd. QSL via home call.

EU-031EU-144. Operators Ciro/I8ACB, Luigi/IK8OZZ, Antonio/IK8VRH, Maurizio/
IK8YTA, Gianni/IZ8CGS and Giuseppe/IZ8EBI will be active with
the callsign IR8DX and IR8DX/P from Campania Region Group
(EU-031) and Calabria/Basilicata Region Group (EU-144) between
July 1st and October 30th. QSL via IK8VRH or the ARI Bureau.

EU-050. Operators IZ8CGS, IK7YTT, IZ8CCW, IZ6FIR, IW8ROS and IK0ESW
will be active as IL7M from the Island of San Domino during
the IOTA Contest. QSL via IZ8CGS. For more details,
visit the Web page at:

LIGHTHOUSE ACTIVITY
Francis/F6HKS and Jean Claude/F6HDH will be operating
from the Contis Lighthouse, (FRA088, PB 060) for the International
Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend, August 16-17th. They will be operating on
CW and SSB from 40-10 meters, except the WARC bands. The other reference
indicators are: French Departments Loire Atlantique, 44 and Province
Brittany. QSL via their home callsign, include a SAE + sufficient
postage or via the French REF bureau.

P4, ARUBA
John, KK9A, will be active as P40A during the CQ World Wide
DX SSB Contest (October 25-26th) as a Single-Op/Single Band (20m) entry.
QSL via WD9DZV.

QSL INFO AND NEWS
Members of the Pina Colada Contest Club (KP2AA) and Federacion de
Radioaficionados de Cuba did a first-ever joint Cuban-U.S. Field Day
operation over the past weekend as CO0US. A special commemorative QSL
recognizing their common interest in emergency communications
preparedness, and international goodwill through Amateur Radio will
be available for SASE or SAE and other return postage. QSL via K7JA.
Operators were: CO2OJ, CO2II, CM2OY, CO2KL, plus CO2KK, CO2JA and
others; W1HIJ, K6PEQ, KF6SGV, N6PEQ, K7JA, and KL7MF.

OPDX has been informed that Hiroo, JA2EZD (aka XW2A, XY2A and XY2M),
has set up (changed) his postal box because of thieves. He even went as
far as to set a trap to see if his mail was being stolen (He put six
air mail letters in the box on a Friday and on Monday they were gone!).
He will use the new P.O. Box for receiving QSL cards (it is a Mail
Service Office). The new POB is: P.O.BOX 10.003 Vientiane, Laos.

Joe, JJ1BDX/3 informs OPDX that QSL cards for Manabu, UK/JI2MED, should
preferably be sent to his home callsign JI2MED via JARL bureau only.
Manabu also accepts direct QSLs to the following address, only
for those who promptly need his card: Manabu SHIMOYASHIRO, 107-B,
Amir Temur str., Tashkent 70084, Uzbekistan. DO NOT SEND DIRECT QSLs
to his home address in Japan.

T31MY QSL STATUS. George, OM2SA, reports that the next 700 QSLs for
T31MY are answered and should be mailed out this week. ADDED NOTE
(Thanks to Pick, WA5PAE): As you know, Mike/T21MY and Jan/T2YL went
QRT and will be heading to Fiji to visit with Paul, 3D2AJ, and his
wife Va'inga. Mike said that he had no plans to do any more radio
operations until they stop at Vanuatu (YJ) later this year on their
way back to Austrailia to be "land lubbers" during the typhoon season.

Ralph, K2PF, informs OPDX that he is now handling QSL cards for Dejo,
T94DJ.

XQ6ET QSL STATUS. George, W8UVZ, reports: "I finished processing all
current requests yesterday (June 25th) and the final batch is going
in the mail today. And I have mailed, and Bob has RX 150 blank QSLs,
to respond to about 100 QSL requests that he was holding. A couple of
reminders for those still needing XQ6ET confirms:
One call per envelope please
Old style IRCs still won't flow easily thru our USPS.
Send all QSL requests to W8UVZ with SASE or SAE and funds for postage.
But note that I do not have logs to check E-mail 'in log' requests.
All QSLs are still verified over the air. There has been a good
outpouring of donations to help fund the amp that was sent to Bob
last month. Bob has the MLA 2500 on the air and his top band signals
are much improved, in spite of some still poor low band condx. We
expect many more QSL requests for low band QSOs since Bob is again
quite active in his winter season. And Bob has designs on improving
his modest antenna setups soon. Thanks to the needy for being patient
with this change in QSL route."

SILENT KEY
It was announced last week that well known DXer "Al" Albert
H. Hix, W8AH, became a Silent Key (SK) on June 25th. Almost every DXer who
attended the Dayton Hamvention and DX Dinner Banquet knew or knew of Al.
With DXCC totals of 388 it was hard not to notice him. He will surely be
missed. OPDX and its readers would like to send out our deepest sympathy
to his family and friends. ADDED NOTE: WV ARRL Section Manager, Hal, KC8FS,
has provided OPDX InterNet Subscribers (as an additional bulletin) with
a writeup from the Charleston Gazette on Al, W8AH.

SN0, POLAND
A Polish team for the IARU HF World Championship (July
12-13th) will be again active using the callsign of SN0HQ. QSOs will be
confirmed via the bureau. QSL Manager is SP2PI. More details about
SN0HQ (list of operators, station locations, SN0HQ award etc.) can be
found at:

SOMETHING FREE!
Emir, 9A6AA, member of the Croatian Amateur Radio
Association and IOCA Manager, reports that the new IOCA directory (booklet)
is finished. You can change (free of charge) your old IOCA booklet for
a new one, during the "Hamradio" in Friedrichshafen.

SPECIAL EVENT
Territory Day is July 1st and marks the celebrating of the
25th year of Self-Government in the Northern Territory (NT). Early on
July 1st, the most senior elected member of the Northern Territory
government, the Honourable Chief Minister Clare Martin will be the first
person to transmit on-air using a special amateur radio callsign, VI8NT,
to celebrate the anniversary of self-government in the Northern Territory.

TK, CORSICA
Fred, F5OZK, will be active as TK/F5OZK between July 5-25th.
Activity will be on 40-10 meters, including the WARC bands. QSL via his
home callsign, direct or by the bureau.

TM0, FRANCE
Look for TM0HQ to be active from the Official French
Headquarter during the next IARU HF Contest, July 13-14th. QSL via the
French REF Bureau.

MESSAGE FROM JUN, VK4SJ (aka - ZK1AYL)
Jun, VK4SJ, sent OPDX the following
message:
"I wish to SINCERELY THANK 'ALL' who sent E-Mails, Cards and Messages
of Sympathy after the tragic accident on Rarotonga, Cook Islands on
the 23rd of May that took the life of my husband Doug VK4BP - ZK1SIM.
These tributes and cards were of a great comfort to our 2 Son's and
myself and helped to ease the pain of our loss. The QSL cards for
our DXpedition on Aitutaki OC-083 and Rarotonga OC-013 have been
processed and will be posted by this coming weekend (June 28-29th).
All cards without return postage will be returned via the Bureau.
......... June VK4SJ - ZK1AYL". Her address is: June Sim, VK4SJ,
P.O. Box 406, Caloundra, Queensland, AUSTRALIA 4551.

VP5, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS (Operators Needed!)
Operators KY1V/David,
WA4PGM/Kyle, plus three other ops are headed to VP5 for the 2003 CQWW
CW Contest. Kyle/WA4PGM announced this past week that they are looking
for one teenage operator that will get an all expense paid trip! (WOW!!!!)
Plus two others ops to complete the team. La Villa Rose has been secured
as the contest station; for more information go to:

VP8, SOUTH SHETLAND (Update to OPDX.615)
Dany, LZ2UU, informs OPDX more
details of his stay at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base "St. Kliment Ohridski",
situated on South Shetlands (Livingston Island). He will basically be
their radio operator. Dany wil be there from the middle of November until
the end of February 2004. He will use the callsign LZ0A on all amateur
radio bands, CW, SSB and RTTY mode. However, in the CQWW DX-CW Contest,
he will use the VP8/LZ2UU callsign (Also, maybe in any other contests
too). There is no E-mail and Internet available there.

YV, VENEZUELA (Contest Activity)
The Radio Club Venezolano Contest
Committee would like to invite everyone to take part (and celebrate)
in Radio Club Venezolano 70th anniversary during the Venezuela
Independence Contest on July 5- 6th. Activity will be on CW/SSB and
the new rules for the contest can be downloaded at:

Excerpts and distribution of The OPDX Bulletin are granted as long as
KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 receive credit. To contribute DX info, call BARF-80 BBS
online at 440-237-8208 28.8k/14400/9600/2400/1200 and leave a message with
the Sysop or send via InterNet Mail to:

which
shares the same phone line as BARF-80 BBS using a data/fax/phone switch.
To access: 1) Dial Number. 2) Wait for first ring (the second ring should
be a false ring from the fax/data switch box) and then dial four quick
ones ("1111"). (NOTE: Some FAX machines that send single "BEEPS" every
second will not have to do this step.) 3) The phone will pick up and
after the "BEEP" leave your voice message or FAX.

Additional Bulletins for OPDX InterNet Subscribers

From the "Charleston Gazette"

Albert H. Hix

Albert H. Hix, 85, died June 25, 2003, at home after a short illness.

He was retired from Union Carbide Technical Center in 1985.

Al Hix, W8AH, was known around the world by thousands of amateur radio
operators and his pursuits in the DX or Distance aspect of the ham radio
hobby are unsurpassed. Al's amateur radio station, operating from the
hills of Charleston, made contact with 390 countries around the world
placing him at the top of the American Radio Relay League's Honor Roll
for such amateur radio pursuits. Al was the number one operator in the
entire world for making contact with the most countries on the 40-meter
band, where he had confirmed contacts with 362 countries. Al was first
licensed in high school, graduating from Charleston High school mid-year
in 1936. He was a 1942 graduate of West Virginia University with an
Electrical Engineering degree. While at WVU he was also in ROTC military
officer's training program and upon graduation, he joined the military,
commissioned as second lieutenant in the US Army's Signal Corps and
served in World War II in the European Theatre in England, Belgium and
France.

After the war, Al returned to Charleston and was hired by Union Carbide
in 1947 and worked in their control and communication department for 28
years. During his career, he provided his expertise in electrical
engineering and control systems to Union Carbide facilities around the
world. Al got his Extra Class license in 1960 as W8BT (Correction per
W8UI, his callsign was W8PQQ) and in 1977, took the W8AH call which
belonged to a friend of his who had become a Silent Key. He was voted
West Virginia Outstanding Amateur Radio Operator of the Year in 1986,
served as president of the West Virginia State Radio Council for two
years, and is past president of the West Virginia Quarter Century
Wireless Association. Al was vice-president of the Instrument Society
of America (ISA) and received the prestigious ISA Fellow Award.

Surviving are his wife, Constance G. Hix of Charleston; brother, James
Hix of Parkersburg.

Service will be 11 a.m. Monday, June 30, at Wilson Funeral Home,
Charleston, with Chaplain (Col.) Randall A. Kochersperger officiating.
Entombment will be in Cunningham Memorial Park, St. Albans with military
graveside rites.

A gathering will be Sunday, June 29, at the funeral home from 5 to 7 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to American Radio Relay
League, Albert H. Hix Memorial Scholarship Fund, 225 Main St., Mewington,
CT 06111-1494.